Supreme Court judge has ‘no objection’ to Nashik Kumbh allocation, but 0.1% of it ‘could save schools’

Supreme Court judge Justice Prasanna B Varale expressed his approval of government spending on projects such as the Nashik Kumbh Mela and road development works in Maharashtra. However, he suggested that a small fraction of these funds, as little as 0.1%, could be redirected to prevent the closure of schools. This statement was made during an event in Shirpur, Dhule district, where the judge emphasized the importance of regional language education.

Varale highlighted his own experience of receiving a quality education in the Marathi medium at municipal and Zilla Parishad schools, which he believes provided him with a broad perspective on others. He pointed out that despite the rising number of students, the central government's budget allocation for education had decreased from 8-12% to below 13%.

Additionally, the judge raised concerns over the inadequate facilities in rural schools, citing the tragic incident at a residential ashram school where three girls died from snakebites due to a lack of proper amenities.